The Role and Practice of Racialized Discourse in Culture and Cultural Production
| Autor: | Frances Henry, Carol Tator |
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| Rok vydání: | 2000 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Canadian Studies. 35:120-137 |
| ISSN: | 1911-0251 0021-9495 |
| DOI: | 10.3138/jcs.35.3.120 |
| Popis: | This article examines the discursive processes through which the cultural elite, including journalists and editors, and other cultural "authorities" responded to a controversy over three cultural events, the "Writing Thru Race" conference, "Into the Heart of Africa" and Show Boat. In analyzing the protests against racism in cultural production, the press employed a discourse aimed at delegitimizing dissent and stifling debate. Within a discourse of liberal principles and values the media and other cultural producers articulated and transmitted powerful and negative narratives, denigrating images and ideas about ethno-racial minorities. The authors contend, that in a racialized society, the repertoires of representation and representational practices are used to signal racial difference and signify the racialized "Other." The paper illuminates how social inequality is constructed and maintained through discursive practices in the cultural spaces of Canadian organizations, institutions and systems. Cet article examine les procedes discursifs par lesquels l'elite culturelle, y compris les journalistes, les editeurs et d'autres autorites en la matiere, a reagi face A une controverse entourant trois evenements culturels: , Writing Thru Race Conference o, o Into the Heart of Africa > et Show Boat. En analysant les protestations contre le racisme dans la production culturelle, la presse a employe un discours visant a delegitimer la dissidence et les tensions du debat..A l'interieur d'un discours sur les valeurs et principes liberaux, les medias et d'autres producteurs culturels ont articule et transmis des narrations percutantes et negatives denigrant les images et idles concernant les minorites ethno-raciales. Les auteures pretendent que dans une societe >, les repertoires de representation et les pratiques representationnelles sont utilises pour signaler la difference raciale et signifier l'>, le >. L'article met en lumiere la facon dont l'inegalite sociale est edifiee et maintenue par 1'entremise des pratiques discursives au sein des espaces culturels des organismes, institutions et systemes canadiens. This essay explores the nature of cultural racism as ideology and discursive practice in cultural production. Cultural production is one way in which society gives voice to racism by recycling hegemonic premises, images and massmediated discourses about Canada's people of colour and Aboriginal peoples. This analysis is based on van Dijk's (1988) notion that discourse is not just a symptom or sign of the presence of racism, but rather it essentially constructs, reproduces and transmits the racist beliefs and actions of the White majority. This article maps the discourses of the cultural elite, including journalists and editors, cultural "authorities" and cultural icons. We explore why the master narratives and images circulated by White mainstream journalists, editors and publishers, producers, directors, curators and others involved in cultural production are not the narratives and central images that African Canadians, Asian Canadians and Aboriginal peoples (among other people of colour) would present of themselves. The essay illuminates how social inequality is constructed and maintained through discursive practices in the cultural spaces of Canadian organizations, institutions and systems, with specific attention to the Canadian print media. We present a case study that deals with controversy and contestation over three cultural productions in the past 10 years. They are: "Into the Heart of Africa," an exhibition of African artefacts (1989) held in Toronto at the Royal Ontario Museum; Show Boat, a musical theatrical production by the former Live Entertainment Productions [Livent] (1993); and a national conference for writers of colour and Aboriginal writers in Vancouver called "Writing Thru Race." The case study analyzes the discursive processes through which dominant cultural voices attempted to silence the protests, by people of colour and Aboriginal peoples, against racism in cultural production and representation. … |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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